I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

68 – 068. The Ismael Subjugation (6)

Thud thud!

I entered the city and walked directly to meet the ‘Lord’.

As if following a well-rehearsed script, garrison soldiers and knights blocked my path.

“No, stop him!”

*CRACK—!!*

“KWEAAK!”

*THUD!*

But they couldn’t stop my stride. It was obvious.

I was on the verge of ascending as a ‘Transcendent’. Even the lord of a border city wouldn’t have a 7th-tier knight under his command.

‘This is strange.’

I frowned, walking briskly through the city center.

Even considering it was within a barrier, the city looked peaceful. As if Ishmael’s kin hadn’t even visited yet.

“Open the gates.”

“H-huh, h-hurk!”

I spoke low, arriving before the lord’s residence. A soldier, torn between survival instinct and guard duty, opened the main gate wide with a frozen face.

*SCREEEAAK—!*

The Sword Demon, watching from behind me, tossed out a comment.

“Heh heh! To think those guarding the lord would yield so easily.”

The Sword Demon clicked his tongue, as if something didn’t sit right with him.

“Such is the climate of the West Continent. Though knights are different.”

Geum Harin added. I ignored their side chatter and barged into the residence.

“W-who are you?”

Immediately, servants rushed out with panicked expressions. Their faces were full of bewilderment at the unexpected arrival of a stranger.

“I come from outside the barrier. Take me to the lord.”

“O-outside the barrier…!”

“A-are you an esteemed guest sent by the imperial family?”

Without further ado, they quickly guided me to the lord’s office.

And then.

*SCREEEAAK!*

Arriving before a certain room, the door opened. And what was inside was…

“Oh my! Lords!”

A man with a gaunt face.

He seemed to be the lord who ruled this city; the colors of his clothes looked quite fine.

“I never expected the Imperial family to send aid so quickly. Please, forgive my rudeness!”

The lord had a sly look about him, just at a glance. Yeah, if you had to compare, his face resembled that of a rat. You could easily mistake him for a servant rather than a lord.

Anyway.

“Are you the lord?”

“Yes! That’s right! I am Baron Rutum, the lord of Hezenberg!”

The lord shouted, his face rigid with alertness.

He probably thought that I was someone sent by the Imperial family, just as he said.

‘Well, I *am* someone sent by the Imperial family.’

I was on the western border, at the request of Crown Prince Friedrich. I had even taken the Plum Blossom Elixir with the Emperor’s approval.

If you had to nitpick, the Baron’s assumption would be right.

“I have a question. Why was the city sealed off? Right now, outside the city… and inside the barrier, there are countless citizens who’ve lost their lives.”

I went straight to the point. I didn’t turn to look, but I guessed that the Sword Demon and Geum Harin were also giving questioning looks.

“W-Well, that is…”

The lord’s eyes darted about, as if he hadn’t expected such a blunt question to come flying at him.

“It was… a method of sorts to protect the city.”

“A method of sorts?”

I narrowed my brow and shot him an irritated glare.

To protect the city? Those people outside were his subjects too, what nonsense was he spouting?

“Yes, yes… That’s right. Currently, a barrier cast by priests is in effect in the city of Hezenberg. You must already know this.”

“Yeah.”

“Well… those who can live should live, wouldn’t you say?”

A small smile, as if asking why I was being so difficult, appeared on the Baron’s face as he looked at me.

“After all, the subjects are just like rats in a hole. They’ll always multiply if you give them time.”

“Ha!”

A hollow laugh escaped me. He was the sort of guy who’d get along well with Gler of DuPont, if only he were fatter.

That was the reality for most of the ＜Silvering＞ nobles. I must’ve just gotten lucky, having seen so many noblemen of great character.

“Fine. Let’s say, those who can live should live.”

I approached him slowly, each step deliberate, and muttered in a low voice.

“But, you didn’t even turn away the refugees from outside the city.”

“H-How did you, Your Lordship, possibly know…!”

The Baron, aghast, gaped.

What do you mean how? I’m the one who personally brought the refugees to the city, so I’d know.

“I can guess. You were afraid. Dwindling food and water. Waiting for the subjugation force with limited supplies.”

“T-That’s right! It’s only been two days since the barrier was formed, but we had no way of knowing how long it would take for subjugation!”

The Baron, agreeing with my words, defended himself.

Halt!

‘What?’

My steps towards him stopped. I frowned again, looking at the Baron.

‘…Two days?’

Something was off. I almost thought the Baron, this lord, had gone mad.

It’s been, roughly, over three weeks since I recovered the ＜Holy Grail of Life＞ and had a private meeting with Crown Prince Friedrich. If you count the time, this barrier should’ve been created around that time too, but two days?

“Baron. When did the soldiers at the garrison start dying, and when did the mage from the magic tower die?”

“Huh? Of course… wasn’t it just yesterday? The soldiers started dying four days ago.”

It was certain.

“Could it be… the axis of time is… different?”

The complex thoughts quickly arrived at one conclusion.

“In that case, things are getting more serious.”

Even the Sword Demon had lost his smile and wore a serious expression. Geum Ha-rin was just staring at me blankly, as if she couldn’t understand the situation.

“Explain it to me. What weight does it carry, for the axis of time to be different?”

“Haaah.”

I sighed heavily and explained briefly.

This knowledge was also something that I, from my time playing ＜Silverling＞, not the current me, knew.

“The axis of time. The fact that the spacetime inside and outside the barrier is distorted means… that a very powerful ‘medium’ is required.”

“……Medium?”

“Yes. By the way, the most common medium is… something related to ‘god’, or an existence as powerful as a god.”

“W-wait a minute. Does that mean…?”

Geum Ha-rin’s lips began to tremble faintly. I nodded with a grave look.

“Yes. We’ve thrown ourselves into something far more dangerous than we imagined.”

My head, muttering like that, plunged into extreme chaos.

The axis of time had twisted. That was a definite fact.

‘The Ishmael in the original work wasn’t a guy with that kind of power, was he?’

The reason I felt confused was that unchangeable fact.

That guy from the lofty heavens, the celestial realm where the gods resided, was literally a ‘fallen’ angel.

Naturally, it meant he was a hybrid – neither god, angel, human, nor demon – and that he didn’t possess the power to distort spacetime.

So, what did this phenomenon – this barrier and the twisted axis of time – signify?

“Hey.”

As if noticing the storm in my heart, the Sword Demon called to me in a low voice.

“……Yes. Elder.”

“I see emotions that don’t suit you. Don’t you have me and Young Master beside you?”

An old, gentle voice echoed in my ear.

Only then did I feel a sense of relief.

‘Right. Let’s focus on the reality first. Saving people, breaking the barrier. That’s the strategy I prepared.’

The original Ishmael… his inherent power is weak. Naturally, all his power was focused on controlling his subordinates. That’s why I devised the ‘war of attrition’ strategy, isn’t it?

“Lord.”

I let out a low voice.

Yeah. I almost fell into an unfitting state of mind in an instant. What could be more foolish than fearing an enemy that doesn’t exist?

“Y-yes, Yessir!”

CRACK──!!

“KUEEEEEK!!”

Thump-thump, approaching him, I immediately threw a punch. As if he were nobility, he had learned to manipulate mana, activating it all over his body.

But the unfortunate truth was, my fist was much faster than his reaction.

Thwack! Thwack-thwack! Crack!

“You, b*stard, how many, people, died, because of, you?”

“Kaaah! Please, spare me! P-please!”

SMACK!

In an instant, traces of violence began to be left all over the Lord’s body. After beating him to the brink of death, I muttered coldly for the last time.

“The foolish deeds you’ve committed will be reported to the Imperial Family. Await their judgment.”

“H-hic, h-hic…….”

The lord lay sprawled on the floor, tears streaming down his face, nodding. I turned sharply and left the residence.

* * *

Stepping into the city, the eyes of the domain’s people, filled with worry and fear, were fixed on us.

Perhaps it was because we’d gathered survivors outside before entering the city, but beneath their complex, ambiguous gazes, a subtle sense of hope lingered.

“So, what will you do now?”

The first goal had been achieved. Maybe it was because of that, but the Sword Demon asked me, his voice tinged with anticipation.

“Leaving the city as we are, to eradicate the demon at the garrison, that’s one way to go.”

“…That’s close to impossible. Considering that only about two days have passed in the barrier, directly challenging the demon is practically suicide.”

“Hmm. If you say so, it must be true.”

The Sword Demon smiled bitterly and nodded.

He seemed to feel it too—the weight of this situation. Maybe… he was uneasy about bringing Geum Harin, the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult, into this hellish pit.

“For now…”

“Hm…? Is there something you need to do?”

“We should go to the church.”

I spoke those words and then, with a flick, turned my head. At the end of my gaze stood a pristine white, Western-style building.

The church.

And… a place where priests who devoted themselves to the ＜God of War＞, a rare sight, gathered.

Even now, with the threat looming right on our doorstep…

‘Aldehein said going to his church would be good.’

Let’s take what we can get.